Welcome to All Football Scouting Report, in here we will take you a closer look at world's promising stars. It is one of football's worst-kept secrets. Adrien Rabiot's arrival at Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain appears to be all but a done deal, although they will have to wait a few more months yet to seal the move.
Rabiot is being pursued by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City. Anyone of them that meets PSG’s valuation could sign him right away.
The France international has proved a conflictive presence for both club and country in the past, but he has the talent to succeed at somewhere else.
Who is Adrien Rabiot?
Rabiot first started his career playing in the suburbs of Paris for US Creteil Lusitanos before Manchester City, at the time not under the current moolah factories from UAE, came offering him a place in their academy.
Rabiot was 13 at the time. Reports suggest that Rabiot struggled with the life in Manchester as he was unable to communicate with his teammates and coaches and thus decided to leave England within six months of signing for the Premier League club, and go back to his native country. His boyhood club, Paris Saint Germain, went on to sign him and the youngster quickly made his way up the ranks.
He received his first first team chance during PSG’s pre-season tour of 2012/13. Carlo Ancelotti gave him his professional debut in the upcoming season and Rabiot managed to make 9 appearances for the club. Ancelotti understood that the club needed some home-grown players in the line-up as well to keep a 'sense of identity'.
Rabiot scored his first goal in European competition on 25 November 2015 to open a 5–0 Champions League group win at Malmö, and repeated the feat the following 9 March in a 2–1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, putting PSG into the quarter-finals 4–2 on aggregate. Four days later, he scored in a 9–0 routing at bottom team Troyes that sealed the league title with eight matches remaining.
On 23 April 2016, Rabiot was sent off in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, a 2–1 win over Lille. The following two seasons combined, he scored four times from 60 appearances and conquered the national championship in 2017–18.
Style of Play
Rabiot is a perfect player when it comes to playing in a passing football system. He is a versatile midfielder, who can ably contribute playing as a No.8 or as a No.6.
Dipping into his stats from this season, the Frenchman had a pass success rate of 93.1% in the league, a character which is important to the philosophy of Barcelona.
He won 1.6 aerial duels per game on an average, which indicates that he can protect his centre-backs if the opposition plays route one football. Simultaneously, it makes the 23-year-old a dangerous prospect from set-piece situations.
(Xavi: "He knows how to organise the play, defend, dribble attack. He could play for Barcelona no problem and he would adapt without a problem")
Strengths
Rabiot is capable of playing anywhere in the midfield, from the holding role to a more box to box attacking role. He can be likened to compatriot Paul Pogba, without the bulky physique.
He can smoothly shift from the back to the front during the course of the match and also acts as the engine room for the team when he gets enough time in a match.
His deep-lying playmaker role has seen him starting some mouth-watering moves.
He usually sits in the centre and operates between the defense and the attack, thus not becoming completely a defensive midfielder, which usually sees the player acting like the third central defender or a shield to the defence, or becoming an out and out attacking midfielder for the team.
Instead he sits in the centre and starts plays from the heart of the pitch. Rabiot’s biggest strength is his positioning and his control on the ball. His tactical awareness makes him a threat.
He is of a slight built, despite being 6 ft 2 inches (1.88 m), so he can’t physically beat an opponent, but his vision help him exploit even small holes on the pitch and he cleverly finds space to either move forward or pass the ball to a teammate.
Rabiot attempts a lot of through balls and when they come off, they are exquisite to watch. Which brings us to his passing. The 23-year-old is accurate with his passes and likes to play short passes.
Rebellious character
Rabiot undeniably has the talent, but does he have the temperament to succeed at Camp Nou? Is he the right kind of character for Ernesto Valverde's team?
His fiery attitude has been called into question on many occasions before, with his decision to remove himself from France's reserve list prior to the 2018 World Cup having caused huge controversy.
Labelled petulant, immature and ungrateful by a stunned press, the 23-year-old then continued to hit out at coach Didier Deschamps for omitting him from the full squad.
Rabiot is a big personality and has never shied away from making bold statements in order to make his points known: think back to his refusal to be on France’s standby squad list for the World Cup, or his public criticism of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
So this latest confrontation will come as no surprise to the PSG hierarchy, who were reportedly close to losing their mercurial marvel in 2015, though he signed a long-term deal and fought for a place in the starting XI.
Well, that tug-of-war match has resurfaced, and his agent – also his mother Veronique – has been reportedly unsettling the Parisians, who could be swayed to part company with their midfield maestro for a reduced figure in January.
Having said that, it is often the case that intensified rumours and media speculation are used in the modern game as clever ploys to encourage a player’s parent club to offer a more lucrative salary for fear of losing top talent. It would, therefore, come as no surprise should Rabiot remain where he is as has been is the past.